Right or Wrong Ways To Execute a Trick?

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

This stemmed from a comment Jeremy wrote in the Pixie tips section in Trick Tips. I said I just figured out Pixies and I hop a little bit with my support foot to get the bag off my foot. Jeremy said he disagreed with that (big surprise jk Jeremy, I really do respect your words, even if you did disagree with me) and heard that Ales used to set with only his bag foot, keeping his support foot planted.

My thought was… Is either one of these more correct than the other? I mean, for some tricks, you MUST do them a certain way to avoid injury, but for others, I guess I don't really see much of a difference in right/wrong ways to execute the trick.

I'd love to see some input from the community here. Thoughts?

[SlashC]

I usually hop off with the support foot when I do pixies, but I can do it without a hop as well. For me the hop helps improve set height (i.e. for phoenix or assassin) and gets the bag off the foot faster which allows me to attack the next dex faster (i.e. for smog or pixie paradon). The main downside to hopping is that it can be more difficult to set the bag straight up (i.e. it might set towards or away from me) and I may have to move my body a bit to track the bag.

On the other hand for fairies I usually do not do not hop off the support leg because it tends to snag on my foot when I do so.

I do not think there is a right or wrong way to execute particular tricks, but more like a spectrum. Certain techniques or footworks are better for certain types of styles, tricks, and combos. When I learn a new trick or combo I try to learn all the possible ways of doing it and then compare them to see what works best for me. Additionally, the optimal techniques can vary from player to player because of differences in their body type and flexibilities. If I can find a slow motion video of an expert player with a similar body or playing style hitting the trick then sometimes it can help me find my optimal technique more quickly.

[Jeremy]

Nick you may have misunderstood me. I didn't say you should keep your support foot planted, just that you shouldn't specifically use it as the force that is setting the bag (except as additional force when you want a high set for ducking/spinning). In fact it's usual for the support foot to bounce a little, just because of the momentum from the set. What I was saying is that in practice, it's good to get the action right in a manner that when you do it slowly (and thus don't have the momentum for the support foot to move) the set still comes out.

I agree with Rory that there is a spectrum, but I'd also say there are lots of definitely wrong ways of doing tricks. Whether there are completely right ways, I'm not sure. I always feel like everything can be improved. Ideally the best way to hit any trick is the manner that is the cleanest with the least amount of effort. I tend to prioritise cleanliness ahead of effort (hence, for example, I think dlo tricks shouldn't have any twist and the bag should remain infront of your body, rather than underneath it, despite twisting and having the bag under you making it easier - and this especially applies to symp dlo).

Certainly there are plenty of areas where it's difficult to know which method is best, but in both footbag and anything else, I would be cautious about saying that because we can't currently determine which is better, therefore we won't be able to. It's possible that for some questions there is no right and wrong, but it seems just as plausible (if not more so) that we're merely currently ignorant of the right and wrong answer and that eventually through trying to determine which is best, we would reach a reasonably certain conclusion.